My beloved laptop is dying, i can feel it in my guts… therefore I have to start looking for a new one I need it primarily for gaming and general Linux use, and I’ll obviously be running Garuda Linux on it.
Before making a purchase, I wanted to ask the community: What should I watch out for when choosing a laptop for Garuda Linux?
For reference:
I’m currently using an MSI GS43VR 7RE Phantom Pro, and I’m very satisfied with it. It runs Garuda Linux smoothly, and I’ve had no major issues with compatibility.
Some specific questions I have:
Are there any brands or models you would recommend avoiding due to poor Linux compatibility (especially with Garuda)?
On the flip side, are there certain devices that work particularly well with Garuda Linux out of the box?
Any known issues with certain Wi-Fi cards, GPUs, or other hardware I should be aware of?
If you’re currently using Garuda on a laptop, I’d love to hear which model you’re using and how your experience has been.
Any tips, advice, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!
WiFi 7 network adapters are still not generally that well supported in Linux because of their relative newness.
As far as WiFi manufacturers go, Intel and Atheros are the Wifi brands I would look for preinstalled on any laptop I was looking to buy.
Check the Garuda Networking Support sub-forum to find the most problematic Wifi adapters we deal with regularly @Garuda.
Personally I would not think about buying Nvidia, if you don’t want to deal with potential graphics driver issues. However, I do not game, so I have no problem boycotting Nvidia GPU’s.
Not a suggestion, can’t tell you what brand to buy, it’s just a personnal experience, i bought a Asus TUF in 2023 with Ryzen 7 and RTX 4060 got a few issues but nothing breaking and the gaming performance are great, close to Windows when i played some games when Windows was still installed, i installed Garuda on it for almost 2 years now and except a nvidia issues on the first month wich was solved by uninstalling and reinstalling the driver, i only got a few minor issues that got solved after updates.
Well..for myself it`s important:
Support for linux from manufacturer !
Support for Bios updates inside bios/usb stick ! (acer + lenovo are out then)
A manufacturer with no so much models or designed for linux
Current i must work (from my company) with a dell latitude laptop from 2022 → no relevant issues since garuda is installed. (M$ +2024 garuda)
Home Laptop Tuxedo Sirius16 bought Juni 2025 → no relevant issues (tuxedo os, amd / amd combo) → next step + garuda linux (in progress reason missed nvme )
You can update Lenovo BIOS from USB stick by downloading the bootable ISO from Lenovo and using geteltorito to extract the bootable image. Then writing this via dd to the stick.
Of course.. but apparently it seems to be too difficult (for the devs of both) to program a reasonable implementation of a bios update directly into the bios.
That’s for me a nogo. The way about third party steps / usb win is possible but sorry, why simple if it easier to have it difficult.
Sure, you’re right, and it’s weak not to have a direct implementation of the update in the BIOS.
I just wanted to point out that it is technically possible.
I would avoid Intel, right now, including for networking. They’re abandoning drivers that even affect servers, and I’ve been having WiFi/BT problems for several months, now, with AC and AX adapters. My desktop’s BT adapter just doesn’t show up in Linux, unless I run 6.6-LTS, which turns the desktop into slideshow (too new of a GPU). On both my desktop and laptops, WiFi sometimes just stops passing traffic, or disconnects, at random. That never happened, from late 2021 (AX20x had teething issues, but they got them sorted, back then) until 2025, and it seems to affect 6.12, too, sadly. “AMD,” WiFi (Mediatek) has been reliable, but still lacks the consistent low pings of Intel’s.
I need it primarily for gaming and general Linux use, and I’ll obviously be running Garuda Linux on it. 
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